Humphreys did ok second half but he was a bit lost in the first. He will never been a midfielder at this level. While I dont think he is a great left-back he is probably better than Eliott. Elliots positioning is dreadful IMO, especially for a player who supposedly has played at a higher level (which I find hard to beleive sometimes!)

Not sure how Brown got 7.5 mind He was marked out of the game and never really did much.

Porter can play the target man role and I would love to see him play instead of Barker for a few games.

Agreed that McCunnie is looking like a good buy! He is equally as comfortable in midfield as he is right back.

ability-wise McCunnie reminds me of Jack Ross. Hopefully he will want to stick around for a bit longer!!!!!

Spot on

I felt sorry for Jack Ross,I think he would have been happy here had he stayed free from injury,when he was playing regular he seemed settled,but it must be tough being away from home spending all your time in the treatment room.

more to do with his split-arse though, wannit?

So they say,but there didnt seem to be any problem while he was in the team.

So you feel sorry for a guy who:
*Let Hartlepool fund his rehab from injury and the moment it was finished, slapped in a transfer request.
*Then refused to train or play for us, despite getting paid.
*Bad-mouthed Uncle Ken then had the cheek to ask him to tear up his contract.
*Went on "sick" for depression due to being homesick.
*Bad-mouthed the club and said he wouldn't play for us even if we were in the Champions League.
*Bad-mouthed Cooper saying that he hated him.
*Went to the fooking press making us out to be an evil club ruining his life.

I agree with you Mr man of mystery about McCunnie, he was my MOM as well, especially so in the second half when he never wasted a pass, his range of passing was excellent as well and he knew when to keep it short and simple or when to spread it out wide.

You can't knock Swindon though, they had obviously done there homework and harried us which didn't give us the time we wanted on the ball, which in turn kept Monkhouse and Brown quiet for long periods of the game.

I have a feeling most teams' managers in this League won't worry about where our team's threats lie, to the extent that Swindon did. Swindon knew who to watch and how to combat them from getting on the ball. I 've said many times Sturrock is an excellent manager at our level and he proved it again yesterday.
Most managers/coaches in League One will be arrogant enough to believe that their side is superior, so that they won't worry about Pools too much. Those are the teams we will nail this season.

It seemed like every player was man-marked, particularly Brown from what I saw. Very clever team really

I'd be inclined to put McCunnie above Boland in the pecking order. We can't keep relying on a player like Willie Boland, he's a fantastic footballer but is far too injury prone and can rarely last 90 minutes. Personally I'd go with McCunnie over Boland as you know you'll get a full season out of him and 90 minutes every match.

All very valid points lads although not being at the game I am not allowed to make direct assessments as I couldn't possibly know from the Poolsworld commentary.

Having a rudimentary view of Pools from 43 years of support though, perhaps a shake up is in order. If people like Sturrock do their homework, and prepare accordingly, maybe it'd be an idea to put Brown on the bench and Foley in his spot, say, put Mackay on first off with Barker and then release the big guns at 70 mins to either kill the game or break the mould?? Y'know, play the rotation game??

Although obviously if we played Porter from the off and re-signed Boyd we'd have nowt to worry about......except how to scale the two places to the top of the table......
Just a thought from far away like.....

a 4 for Robbie Elliott he was cack last season when we played Leeds pre-season and we still signed him, unless he improves quickly then its a wasted signing IMO.

Butz 7 Made some very good saves

McCunnie 8. Excellent right thru the game. MOM

Elliott 3 Waste of space, get rid

Antwi 5 He'll end up being a liability, give him a few games on the bench and let him watch Nelse and Ben from there.

Nelson 6 Not his best game

Humphreys 7. Played very well in the 2nd half.

Monkhouse 7. I love watching this bloke play

Liddle 6 Worked very hard as always but I just wish he'd be a bit more positive sometimes.

Brown 7 Played some good stuff when he could get the ball, late in the game he turned one defender inside out, turned him back and then turned him inside out again.

Barker 6. Better 2nd half than 1st, doesn't seem to be winning many headers, but again he won more in 2nd half.

Moore 2 Contributed nothing, has barely contributed anything all season, can't see what he might contribute for the rest of the season, get rid.

Clark 8. Looked as if he'd been on from the start, come on Danny surely you know how good he is.

Gibb 7 Only really slipped up once and I have to say he managed to get a few decent crosses in.

Porter 8. Total class, I'm not always convinced about his determination and fitness but was full of it all yeaterday, and what a finish, you just don't get anything like Porter can give from Moore.

Swindon Town 8

excellent assessment mr Cod

Why thank you Mr Parmo, I forget to say that despite not really playing well on Saturday and in a few other games we are still 3rd top and if we can get 4pts from our next 2 games things are gonna be looking VERY good indeedy.

I was going to put my marks on, but can't really disagree with much of this, apart from being a little less harsh with my marks for Elliot & Moore, would probably have given 4 & 5 respectively.

Same here.

Humps is not good enough to play central midfield. As soon as McCunnie was there to break up the play in the middle we looked far more comfortable.

I would Maybe give Monky a 6 but only cos the lad marking him played really well.

I agree with the earlier comments about Antwi. Sometimes looks class, sometimes has a poor spell. His pace gets him out of a lot of trouble tho. Prefer Clark, he's always available for the keeper and his distribution is excellent.

Elliot was shocking. Never seen such an experienced player caught out of position so much. Never bust a gut to get back into it either.

Unfortunately this is the typical attitude of players who think they no longer have anything to prove. Give us a hungry young kid like Liddle every time.